"Smoking has a sedative effect upon the nerves, and enables a man to bear the sorrows of this life (of which every one has his share) not only decently, but dignifiedly."

"If you must commit suicide – and there is no knowing to what people may be brought – always contrive to do it as decorously as possible; the decencies, whether of life or of death, should never be lost sight of."

"I have always been a friend to hero-worship; it is the only rational one, and has always been in use amongst civilized people."

"Translation is at best an echo."

"'Scotland! a queer country that, your honour!' 'So it is,' said I; 'a queerer country I never saw in all my life.' 'And a queer set of people, your honour,' 'So they are,' said I; 'a queerer set of people than the Scotch you would scarcely seen in a summer's day.'"

"I often think I should like to have another rally—one more rally, and then—but there’s a time for all things—youth will be served, every dog has his day, and mine has been a fine one—let me be content."

"Fear God, and take your own part."

"I never saw such a place for merched anllad [wanton women] as Northampton."

"There's night and day, brother, both sweet things; sun, moon, and stars, brother, all sweet things; there's likewise a wind on the heath. Life is very sweet, brother; who would wish to die?"

"There's the wind on the heath, brother; if I could only feel that, I would gladly live for ever."

"He is not deserving of the name of Englishman who speaketh against ale, that is, good ale."

"Were I as base as is the lowly plain, And you, my Love, as high as heaven above, Yet should the thoughts of me your humble swain Ascend to heaven, in honour of my Love."

"And look upon you with ten thousand eyes Till heaven wax'd blind, and till the world were done."

"Each time you sit down to practice, take a few minutes to feel in your heart why this is important to you."

"Appeals to justice or fairness are almost always stories that hide or protect unacknowledged hurts or pains."

"Some find they can practice effectively by bringing attention to the arising of like, dislike and indifference in their meditation practice and daily life. Others are able to use the power of loving kindness, compassion, equanimity, or devotion to change the way they experience things. And still others develop or naturally have enough capacity in awareness that they experience attraction as delight, aversion as clarity, and indifference as non-thought."

"When you experience things completely, then you know what they are."

"When you read sutras don't seek to understand them. Stay in touch with precisely what they are eliciting in terms of experience in you."

"The most reliable way to cut through the thinking process is to bring attention to what you are experiencing in the body."

"What's the dominant emotion associated with purity? Anger. The most aggressive people are the ones who insist on being utterly pure. It's responsible for countless wars at all levels of society. Far better to have no aspiration, no hope and relate to things just as they are."

"When people thank and tell you how much you've helped them, what they say has nothing to do with you. This is just their way of expressing joy in their own experience. Remember this, too, when people complain or criticize."

"We're going to have to retire the word mindfulness. It's been hopelessly corrupted in English."

"Study void. Void is what makes everything possible. If there is no emptiness or open space in your life then very very few things are possible."

"By just taking a breath you're moving into attention a little bit and so you get much less caught up in reactivity. A practical application of this in your life is, never say anything before you've taken one breath. It's a very simple practice--changes the dynamics of conversation with other people completely."

"The importance of conventional life is greatly exaggerated and a good death can do wonders."

"The fundamental effort in Buddhist practice is to develop a sufficient capacity in attention so that you can experience your own non-existence."

"Any form of idealism involves avoiding some specific pain or suffering."

"If you don't clearly understand what you are looking for in a teacher or in internal work, you will inevitably accept someone else's agenda as your own. While you may start internal transformative work on the suggestion or advice of another person, at some point your practice has to become a response to your own questions about life and being."

"As you become more awake you actually find yourself with less and less choice about what you do in any given situation. And you have less choice because you see more clearly. This is a very important point. Clarity doesn’t create more options. It eliminates options because you see that they aren’t appropriate or they don’t work."

"Buddha did not ignore suffering or try to explain it away as an unfortunate side effect of a divine plan or cosmic order. Suffering was, for him, the central issue."

"It says in the sutras that buddha nature pervades all beings. But this does not mean that there is some thing which is buddha nature. Rather, when all the confusion of samsara is cleared away, what remains is buddha nature."

"At every stage of practice a price has to be paid for clarity. The price is the loss of an illusion."

"To see what you've done, look at what you are. To see what you'll be, look at your actions."

"At length the morn and cold indifference came."

"Is she not more than painting can express, Or youthful poets fancy when they love?"

"Is this that haughty gallant, gay Lothario?"

"As if Misfortune made the throne her seat, And none could be unhappy but the great."

"And one false step entirely damns her fame. In vain with tears the loss she may deplore, In vain look back on what she was before; She sets like stars that fall, to rise no more."

"Your bounty is beyond my speaking; But though my mouth be dumb, my heart shall thank you."

"[Rowe's] version of Lucan is one of the greatest productions of English poetry; for there is, perhaps, none that so completely exhibits the genius and spirit of the original. Lucan is distinguished by a kind of dictatorial or philosophick dignity, rather, as Quintilian observes, declamatory than poetical; full of ambitious morality and pointed sentences, comprised in vigorous and animated lines. This character Rowe has very diligently and successfully preserved. ... The Pharsalia of Rowe deserves more notice than it obtains, and, as it is more read, will be more esteemed."

"Thou hast prevaricated with thy friend, By underhand contrivances undone me: And while my open nature trusted in thee, Thou hast slept in between me and my hopes, And ravish'd from me all my soul held dear. Thou hast betray'd me."

"Attention, attention, the key to practice, so many teachers have said. It’s true. When we come to know, even a little, this truly miraculous and open nature of our being, we begin to appreciate the jewels and riches in these very simple instructions that come down to us through our teachers."

"Greed for results, for something dramatic, undermines practice completely. The effects of meditation are subtle and take time to mature. When we are constantly looking for some kind of sign or attainment from our practice, we are essentially looking outside ourselves."

"As compassion deepens, we find ourselves developing a nobility of the heart. Increasingly, and often to our surprise, we respond to difficult situations with calmness, clarity and directness. A quiet fearlessness or confidence is present as we no longer fear that we will compromise our own integrity. We find, too, a joy, a joy which arises from the knowledge that our every act is meaningful and helpful to the world."

"The vast array of methods and techniques which comprise Buddhism, particularly the Tibetan tradition, are all to help us come to know simply what we are, buddha, awake and aware. Time and time again, we are told that we are buddha, that the buddha qualities are present now, but that we just don’t know it. The problem, for many of us, is that this knowing is not a form of knowing that we are used to. We need tools and methods to dismantle the emotional blocks, the habitual patterns, the worries, concerns, expectations, and hopes that keep us from trusting and knowing what we are."

"WHY, Damon, with the forward day Dost thou thy little spot survey, From tree to tree, with doubtful cheer, Pursue the progress of the year, What winds arise, what rains descend, When thou before that year shalt end?"

"His golden locks time hath to silver turned; O time too swift! O swiftness never ceasing! His youth ’gainst time and age hath ever spurned, But spurned in vain; youth waneth by encreasing."

"His helmet now shall make a hive for bees, And lovers’ songs be turned to holy psalms; A man-at-arms must now serve on his knees, And feed on prayers, which are old age’s alms."

"My merry, merry, merry roundelay Concludes with Cupid’s curse: They that do change old love for new, Pray gods, they change for worse!"

"Villain, a horse-- Villain, I say, give me a horse to fly, To swim the river, villain, and to fly."